Denver Broncos best and worst in-season trades in team history
As the Trade Deadline nears, rumors swirl about who the Denver Broncos could target. In the past, how have in-season trades worked out for Denver?
The NFL’s trade deadline always brings some level of excitement, and as the Denver Broncos look to right the ship it’s natural to look around the league for talent. After a three-game win streak to start the year, Denver’s skidded to 3-2 with crucial losses to Baltimore and Pittsburgh, and while the addition of John Brown should help open up the offense many in the media and fandom will be looking for George Paton to make some more moves this month.
So historically, what’s the risk/reward for making a move in the middle of the season?
Let’s take a look at the best and worst-case scenarios.
Best and Worst in-season trades in Denver Broncos history
Best: Obtained WR Haven Moses from Buffalo in Exchange for WR Dwight Harrison (1972)
This is easily the best in-season trade that’s gone down in Denver. The Denver Broncos kicked off their run in the AFL with a pair of great flankers/ends in Lionel Taylor and Al Denson, but when the 70s rolled around they needed an infusion of talent outside.
While Harrison, their 2nd round pick in 1971 had a promising rookie campaign, he was allegedly involved in a locker room altercation with DL Lyle Alzado and Denver found a willing trade partner in Buffalo.
Haven Moses was an established vet by ’72 with four seasons and a Pro Bowl under his belt, but still, Buffalo agreed to a straight-across trade. Marlin Briscoe had taken over as Buffalo’s #1 target after being traded from Denver a few years previously, and Buffalo had designs to switch Harrison to defensive back.
Moses got the chance to shine again in Denver, and was the team’s top wideout for the next eight seasons, playing 10 years in Denver total. He and QB Craig Morton were known as the M&M connection from ’77-’81 and Moses finished his time in Denver comfortably posted on our leaderboards with 302 Receptions (11th), 5,450 Yards (9th), and 44 TD’s (5-T).
Harrison’s conversion to DB was a really productive move for Buffalo as well, and he was a longtime starter at corner for them, even racking up 8 interceptions in ’75. The sting of that loss for Denver was more than compensated by Moses’ presence and the fact that All-Time greats Louis Wright and Steve Foley soon wound up in Orange & Blue after Harrison’s departure.
This trade represented the best possible outcome for an off-the-cuff in-season trade, as the Broncos landed a longtime star and franchise great.
Worst: Obtained 4th and 7th Round Picks from Houston for Demaryius Thomas and a 7th (2018)
This isn’t a bad trade because the Denver Broncos were lacking at Wide Receiver that year. It’s not a bad trade because we gave up a ton of draft capital. It strikes me as the worst in-season trade the Broncos have made because we got essentially nothing for one of the best receivers in team history at just 31 years old.
On paper, I understand the motivation. We had two expensive receivers who had just turned 30, in Demaryius and Emmanuel Sanders, paired with two promising rookies in Courtland Sutton and DaeSean Hamilton (plus Tim Patrick). The young guys needed reps to develop, and it would help to clear some Cap space. Yet the legacy of this trade does leave a bitter taste in my mouth.
The swap of 7th round picks is almost a negligible factor. This means all we essentially got for Demaryius was the 4th rounder, which we packaged to Cincinnati to move up 10 spots in the 2nd round of the 2019 Draft and select… Drew Lock.
Now, if Drew somehow gets another shot in Denver and proves all the doubters wrong, this trade’s contribution to his selection would play in a much different light. As of now, it looks like we traded one of the best receivers of his generation for some salary cap savings and 1/3 of a draft day package to take a QB who doesn’t appear to be the guy. Rough.